RUMBLED: Leeds man ordered to pay thousands to First Bus after CCTV shows how he lied about crash injuries

A compensation claimant named Mr Crook has been handed a £4,600 legal bill after a court ruled he had made a bogus personal injury claim.

Alan Crook, from Leeds, lied about neck and shoulder injuries that were allegedly sustained when a First West Yorkshire bus clipped a stationary car.

Crook had attempted to take legal action against the transport company but when the case proceeded to trial, a range of inconsistencies appeared.

Initially citing damage to his neck, the claimant changed his version of events, telling a court that he had also suffered shoulder problems.

Crook, of Langbar Green, Swarcliffe, also fabricated a story of how he was jolted by the bus, a claim later disproven by on-board CCTV.

Simon Robinson, Head of Claims at FirstGroup, said: “When we reviewed the CCTV footage, it was quite clear that no passengers were jolted during the incident and, in fact, Mr Crook didn’t even appear to be aware of the collision until he was told by another passenger.”

At Leeds County Court, Judge Saffman dismissed the case, finding Crook’s claim to be fundamentally dishonest and ordered him to repay £4,656 in legal costs.

Simon Robinson added: “On this occasion, Mr Crook really did live up to his name. These types of bogus claims, which are more regular than you might think, can often take a lengthy period of time to disprove. Thankfully our researchers were able to quickly reveal the inconsistencies in his version of events and we will not hesitate to use these methods to expose anyone else attempting to try something similar.”

Mark Hudson, Head of Counter Fraud at Horwich Farrelly, who defended the claim on behalf of FirstGroup, added: “The claimant in this case was clearly a chancer as the CCTV evidence proved beyond any doubt that Mr Crook could not have possibly suffered any injuries from what was an extremely minor incident. It’s quite right that courts take a hard line against dishonest individuals like Mr Crook and hit them where it hurts – in their wallet.”